Others have suggested that the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) should have acted to close the street. An SDOT spokesperson said that it’s up to contractors to request a street closure. This is a poor reason and excuse to expose the public to construction dangers.

Second, we have learned that it is common practice for contractors disassembling tower cranes to remove connecting pins early in the process in order to save time.

Despite the obvious safety risks and the danger of such a practice.

According to experts, if the structure’s pins had not been removed, the crane would never have tipped over. Or, it would take winds hundreds of miles per hour to push the crane over.

If this theory is true, attempting to save a few minutes in crane disassembly cost four people their lives.

There are dozens of large construction cranes visible in Seattle – the crane that fell on Mercer Street was one of many that hover over our streets.

While these are simply theories set forth by experts who have viewed video footage and photographs, it is apparent that something went very wrong and that some safety procedures were not followed.